We recently had the chance to connect with Jules Annen and have shared our conversation below.
Jules , it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
My 18-year-old son, Evan, moved to New York City on his own to intern at a major music studio. He’s chasing his dream of becoming a music producer and working alongside some of the best in the industry. He found the internship himself — and he’s thriving.
In some ways, he’s following in my footsteps. In other ways, he’s carving his own path entirely — and I couldn’t be more proud. His passion and determination are contagious. He reminds me daily to stay hungry for life, to take risks, and to keep dreaming forward.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’ve been called a serial entrepreneur — but I’m more of a venture capitalist without the capital. I invest in people — in dreams, vision, and talent.
It took me years to understand that my greatest gift isn’t in leading the song — it’s in building the harmony.
I learned this in a single, unexpected moment at a Prince tribute concert.
I was backstage doing Mayte’s hair — his former wife — when one of Prince’s backup singers started singing “Cream.” Instinctively, I joined her…and for the first time in my life, I harmonized effortlessly. She gave me a knowing smile — the kind that says, yes girl, yes.
That tiny moment rearranged something in me.
I spent decades hustling to “sing lead.” But the truth is — I am a force multiplier. I am here to elevate others.
So whether I’m spotlighting the expertise of physicians (like those at Mayo Clinic)…mentoring a young artist…helping an entrepreneur land their first win…or elevating a peer’s brilliance — my work is dedicated to amplification: making other people’s greatness impossible to ignore.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was in fourth grade, I was invited into a program called Talented and Gifted (T.A.G.). Some said it was for the brilliant. Some said it was for kids on the spectrum. Others joked it was a CIA experiment.
Whatever it was — I was removed from it in fifth grade with no explanation. And it devastated me.
It is one thing to never be invited into the exclusive room.
It is another thing entirely to be brought in…and then asked to leave.
That moment seeded a belief in me that I wasn’t smart enough — that I was “less than.” It distorted my self-worth for a long time.
Then, when I began writing and editing Mayo Clinic health content — collaborating with physicians and keeping up — something clicked.
Being a makeup artist was no different than editing medical content — it was just a different language, a different medium. The core skill was the same: perceive the essence, refine the message, elevate the subject.
Everything I had done — every role, every reinvention — wasn’t evidence of lack. It was life accumulation.
Don’t ever discount your life experience.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I suppose that depends on what “suffering” means in this context. Financially? Emotionally?
Financially, yes — I’ve struggled.
When I moved to Los Angeles at 21, I was broke. I had no apartment, so I lived out of my car and in youth hostels. When I called my parents, they told me to figure it out — no one was coming to save me.
And there’s a particular kind of re-wiring that happens when you’re alone in a new city with no safety net. You begin to appreciate the small things— a hot meal, the warmth of a jacket, the softness of a bed, the ordinary holiness of a sunrise.
The scarcity of my youth taught me to be hungry and humble — but it also did something else: It made me resourceful.
Because when you’ve had nothing, and survived, and still found beauty — then success never becomes about collecting more.
Success becomes about creating more.
More joy.
More opportunity.
More space for others to rise.
The suffering didn’t harden me.
It expanded me —
and it shaped me into who I am now.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes and no.
When I was a baby, I actually had two foster moms. One described me as “very outgoing.” The other wrote, “she’s a shy baby.” For years I wondered which version was true.
It wasn’t until my early forties that I finally realized: both were.
I am both an introvert and an extrovert — an ambivert.
I love the energy of big parties and crowded rooms, I also love traveling alone, disappearing into my thoughts for days, speaking to no one. I need both. They are the two halves of my oxygen.
And sometimes, when I’m out in public, I can’t immediately shift into my extroverted self. It probably makes people wonder if I’m okay.
But I am more than okay — I’m often just still in solitude mode. I simply haven’t been fully recharged yet.
So yes — the public version is A version of the real me.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
If you had asked me ten years ago, I would have said yes — but I would have been kidding myself.
At the height of my makeup and hair career, I received a lot of validation — magazine features, TV spots, tagged photos, awards.
Then I transitioned into healthcare — and it all came to a screeching hault.
No more recognition. No external affirmation.
And that’s when I discovered a new version of myself.
I could still pour myself fully into the work. I could write the technical instructions for COVID saliva tests…coach a patient to lower their A1C levels… improve patient education that might change someone’s quality of life — and do it without anyone knowing my name.
And it still felt good.
Because the work became intimate. Private. Sacred.
I didn’t need to be seen to matter.
So yes — today, I can give everything my best, even if no one ever praises me for it.
Because the work, by itself, is enough.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Julesannen
